Currants

A few years ago we planted several currant bushes. Currants are small and very tart berries. They come in several varieties. We planted white currants, red currants and black currants. They are all healthy little fruits, with each variety offering a little something different. Check out the following links http://healthmunsta.hubpages.com/hub/Red-Currant-Health-Benefits

Since white currants are a cultivar of red currants they appear to offer the same nutritional value with a bit sweeter flavor.

After reading many articles about currants I have determined that they are another super food (along with blueberries) that can be grown right in my, and possibly your, own yard. Our currant bushes have been very easy to grow in our Michigan climate. Some have even been replanted once or twice because we decided they were in the wrong location, yet they continue to thrive. This spring my husband took a branch that had come off one of the bushes (it was still alive) and just stuck it in the soil near the other bushes, and it has continued to grow all summer long. Our currant bushes have produced more and more berries each year, with this year being a fantastic crop. The threats that we have had to protect against have mostly been damage to the bushes by deer, and although it didn’t happen this year, a few years ago the birds got the berries before I did. My sister also told me that her chickens ate all the currants off of her bushes last year.

So this spring I began using currants by making jam. One thing I found out is that currants contain a lot of pectin, so the only things you need to make this jam are currants and sugar. Currants make a jam with a flavor that will rival homemade strawberry jam (my families previous favorite). But not all of the currants got made into jam.

Check out my future posts to see what else I have been doing with currants.